Probably still too much football for Kevin, but not really. With Blue-White Weekend and the NFL Draft behind us and a long stretch of Summer (finally) to go before camp, the guys kick back on the front porch of Blue White Media‘s South Burrowes office and enjoy the slowest, warmest, and best time of year in the best place on Earth. Brandon and Goon swap stories from their days as Nittany Lions on the life of a Penn State football player during the Summer semester, while Kevin and Mike the Mailman (who may or may not have handled a package sent to campus by Ted “The Unabomber” Kacynski) explain how the other half lived. From Mike the Mailman’s bar tours to Marco Rivera’s horrible prank on Brandon, the wide-ranging, alcohol-fueled ramblings are vintage Obligatory. Enjoy!

BRANDON: How does somebody get Mike the Mailman on their bar tour?

MIKE: It’s very easy. Just call me.

4:03 – Summertime is the best time in State College

5:47 – Intersession vs. Intercourse

8:35 – Getting Mike the Mailman on your bar tour

9:59 – How Marco Rivera ambushed Brandon’s 21st birthday hangover

14:32 – What Summer was like for the players (Kyle Brady hung out at the post office)

From Saquon Barkley’s SI cover to the Nittany Lions’ dominance of the Combine, Penn State is roaring into the 2018 NFL Draft. The guys took the show on the road to Barrel 21 Distillery in State College (prior to a performance from Trout Steak Revival) and welcomed special guests Keith “Good” Conlin, starting tackle for the famed ’94 Lions, and Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting to break it all down. Goon explains how much has changed, especially within the Penn State program, from the mid-90’s to present in terms of preparation for the NFL Draft, reflecting Coach Franklin’s emphasis on player development and branding. Eric runs down the profile of every Penn State prospect, including a surprising prediction for the first of the PSU defensive back to go off the board.

An #LBU great on his youth all star game, Paterno to Franklin, and more

As Mike the Mailman might remind us, neither rain nor sleet nor snow will hold back one of Happy Valley’s best traditions: Blue-White Weekend. To celebrate our quick dip in the barren offseason’s football oasis, Brandon, Chris, Kevin, and Mike were psyched to welcome LaVar Arrington to the podcast. LaVar is back in town hosting the A11 Stars Bowl 2018 at Beaver Stadium prior to the Blue-White Game to benefit his non-profit Xtreme Prevention and THON. He talks about the game and what it took to bring it to Penn State, his observations about this year’s team (including State’s latest LB to wear 11), and the process of transitioning from Joe Paterno’s old school approach to the James Franklin era.

“Joe would’ve cussed everybody out… he would have been mortified.” -LaVar Arrington on Penn State’s new facilities

Incredibly, Penn State’s wrestling team has just completed its seventh national title run in the last eight years, crowning four individual champions and besting a stacked Ohio State squad in dramatic fashion before a raucous home crowd. Brandon, Chris, and long-time wrestling superfan Mike the Mailman sat down with Jeff “Ironhead” Byers, who has been the unmistakable voice of Nittany Lions wrestling for the last three decades, to break down another championship season and talk about the team’s remarkable dominance under Cael Sanderson. Jeff has had a front-row seat for the rise of an all-time NCAA powerhouse in Happy Valley, and he shares his insights into what is making this program so unbelievably special.

CHRIS: “How are these kids even real? I hear some of these stories about guys Cael Sanderson’s brought through the program, and it’s like, ‘C’mon.’ But it’s legit.”

Unparalleled success in attracting top recruits has been a hallmark of James Franklin’s tenure at Penn State, with the fifth-ranked class of 2018 representing the program’s most talented group yet (probably its best in the modern recruiting era). Chris, Kevin, and Mike the Mailman get schooled on the process by Brandon, who was a star recruit himself once upon a time. As someone who spent the next couple decades playing college and pro football and then coaching in the college ranks, he reflects on how recruiting has changed in 20 years and how big the business has become. Join the whole Obligatory cast on a trip down the rabbit hole of college football recruiting.

BRANDON: It’s a group of people that haven’t had to change at all, for however long that was.

KEVIN: Hell, we had the same damn mailman for how many years?

4:09 – The “new normal” at Penn State & Brandon’s experiences at the PA high school coaching clinic at PSU

5:45 – Which two PA schools have shown the most recruiting interest in Brandon’s son?

8:10 – Franklin’s emphasis on National Signing Day & what it signifies

9:54 – The impact of early Signing Day

16:38 – Increased attention on recruiting & does it make the experience better?

22:18 – The business of recruiting & the illusion of star rankings (great Brandon story at 22:55)

26:15 – Increased focus on getting players to the NFL & how it manifests at Penn State

28:29 – Do “stars” matter & why?

32:17 – How has awareness of recruiting changed since Brandon’s playing days?

Call it bold, unconventional, misguided, or just stupid, but Chris and Kevin dare to dive right into the quagmire of misery and indifference that is Penn State men’s basketball for episode 2 (blame Chris). They welcome John Patishnock of the Penn State Alumni Association and HappyValley.com who covers the team courtside to bring some level of earnest seriousness to a topic they sometimes struggle to discuss without cynicism. Recorded just prior to Penn State’s win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament (its third against the Buckeyes this season), this conversation takes a wide view of the 2017-18 season and the current state of the program. John will come back for a final debrief in the offseason, but this episode provides a fun, relevant, and evergreen look at the frustrating enigma of PSU hoops.

“For better or for worse, or maybe through indifference, Penn State has said, ‘Pat Chambers is our guy.'” -John Patishnock

3:10 – “At least one person capable of taking the program seriously,” introducing John Patishnock

5:10 – Chris secretly wishes he could be the villain, but Kevin just does it better

9:07 – Watching the team at (and breaking into) Rec Hall

13:00 – Two conflicting views of this season & Pat Chambers

20:03 – NBA prospects on the current roster; should Tony Carr make the jump?

21:50 – Gabe Norwood (Jordan’s brother) is “the Lebron James of the Phillipines”

26:50 – “I cannot in good conscience participate in… suggesting that Penn State will be a top 25 team next year. (It) feels like Amway sales.”

28:49 – Is the talent on this year’s roster the best in the Big Ten era?

39:11 – Kevin tells a funny story about fans storming the court after Ohio State

It’s the inaugural episode of The Obligatory PSU Podcast, the new companion podcast produced by the cast of The Obligatory PSU Pregame Show – former Penn State and NFL defensive tackle Brandon Noble, campus legend Mike “the Mailman” Herr, and authors/superfans Kevin Horne and Chris Buchignani. On Saturday of THON 2018 weekend, Brandon, Kevin, and Chris joined Mike for morning Mail Call at the Bryce Jordan Center and then regrouped at the BlueWhiteTV “living room” studio to look back on Penn State’s 2017 football season.

“Every time you hit Like and Subscribe, Mike the Mailman smiles.” -Kevin Horne

3:00 – “There have been 300 #MiketheMailman hashtags today.”

3:13 – Visiting THON & its humble beginnings in the White Building

4:36 – Overview of the podcast

6:30 – Cast introductions

11:00 – A magazine “is like a website you can carry around with you anywhere on paper”

11:20 – On the first season on statewide television

16:49 – The divisive legacy of the 2017 season

19:42 – “It’s hard to win ’em all.”

21:18 – Was the season a “disappointment?” (guys really get into the groove here)

25:22 – What will stand out most to you from 2017?

31:25 – How expectations change perceptions

35:00 – James Franklin ices the Georgia State kicker, the team debuts its throwbacks, GameDay comes to Old Main Lawn; the small moments of 2017

Can you believe they actually let us make 15 of these things? and then aired them?? It’s the end of the line for a roller-coaster campaign for the Nittany Lions and an unbelievably fun first season of Obligatory on PCN. The guys close out the year at Champs Altoona, and not even Mike the Mailman’s (most definitely not in any way gambling-debt-related) neck injury can stand in the way of one final game preview. Leatherneck Leader is Saquon Barkley, an all-time great down to his last games in Blue and White.

Penn State is back on the right track after a home win against Rutgers, and Brandon, Mike the Mailman, Kevin, and Chris are celebrating at “Table Mini Bar” in State College’s favorite basement dive, The Phyrst (celebrating 50 years in 2017). Chris and Kevin are repping their high school alma maters; Brandon still resents Nebraska, and Capt. Butler is back to talk Toys for Tots and Leatherneck Leaders Brandon Smith and Mike Gesicki.